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Ally - Gilda Carbonaro (MFSO)

September 06, 2009

This article was posted to the Military Families Speak Out website, September 1, 2009

On the heels of a very successful National Assembly we have more exciting news to share with you! Last Friday, August 21, 2009, a delegation from Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) was invited to the White House for what we hope will be the very important first step to a deepening relationship with the Obama Administration and the opportunity to share our voices as Military Families and to bring our families’ realities of these wars to light.
The delegation of MFSO members met with Tina Tchen, Director of the Office of Public Engagement, and two other officials from that office. The meeting, in the West Wing of the White House, had been swiftly pulled together by MFSO member and chapter leader Paula Rogovin, working with her Congressman Steve Rothman (NJ)
At the hour-long session, representatives of MFSO were able to share their personal stories and the unique history of the organization. Paula Rogovin, from Bergen County New Jersey, spoke of her son a Marine who has been deployed twice to Iraq. Gilda Carbonaro, from Bethesda, Maryland, spoke of the horror of witnessing the death of her only child, her son, who died from burns suffered in Iraq. Emiko Ortega, from Baltimore, Maryland, talked about her son who has served one deployment to Iraq. Celeste Zappala and her son Dante both of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, spoke about the death of her son and Dante’s brother during a mission searching for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq after it had been determined by inspectors that there weren’t any. Charley Richardson, co-founder of MFSO, talked about his son who served in Iraq as a member of the military and in Afghanistan as a contractor. Charley also outlined the mission and work of MFSO.
The group highlighted the very serious problems facing troops and veterans and their families, physical and mental health, legal issues, and other problems that will impact us all as well as our country for many decades to come. The request for an opportunity to meet with President Obama and/or First Lady Michelle Obama in the near future was made to share our urgency in ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan NOW.
They brought MFSO’s message to the White House that the only way to prevent the deaths and injuries, the suffering from health and mental health trauma caused by these wars and from repeated deployments is to BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
Many thanks to Paula Rogovin for getting MFSO’s “foot in the door” to the White House. We look forward to follow up visits and having a seat at the table where our members can share first hand the knowledge we have gained from our experiences, with the hope that our inside view can deepen President Obama’s understanding and move his policies toward an immediate end to these wars.
We have much work ahead of us and many exiting projects to pursue. If you would like to volunteer your talents, or have strategic ideas or suggestions, we want to hear from you!
Your participation and involvement is vital to our efforts!